In the Airport
by WintersPheonix
Summary: As they fly to the jet, she can already see tomorrow's headline. Can Your Man Stop an Airport? The Iron Maiden and her Iron Man Meet the Fam


Darcy bobs her head to the tunes coming through her headphones. Mooching off the crappy but very free Wi-Fi that the airport offers, she lazily checks her personal, nonprofessional Instagram, which mostly consists of pictures of her "secret but not really so secret since Tony knows about and loves cuddling with" cat, a Singapura she somehow found at a shelter that answers to the name of Sushi Mei or really any other name when she's feeling generous. Then she checks her feed, which is again filled to the brim with cat posts, just not get own posts this time.

When she randomly glances up after a while, she finds people staring at the ceiling or poking each other with expressions of amazement etched on their faces. Pulling her sound-canceling headphones off, she hears a voice repeatedly calling her name from the overhead speakers. A voice that everyone knows and belongs to someone who has been called a national treasure multiple times and will never let anyone forget it, the voice of one Tony Stark.

"Darcy Lewis! Darcy, honeybunny, you gotta answer me. Darcy. Darcy! _Darcy_ ," he finishes whining as she smothers a giggle. "Darcy, honeybunny, just go over to one of those station thingies with a speaker thing." Yes, very official terms, especially since they're coming from a certified scientific genius. There's a very audible such that causes the speakers to crackle. "Could _someone_ find a gorgeous lady that looks like this?"

Then, suddenly, every screen probably in the entire fucking airport simultaneously flash a photo of her mid-laugh, a photo she highly suspects is a still from a surveillance video taken during one of their movie nights. Of course, the moment her face is appearing on the screen, everyone in her gate turns their shocked faces to gape at her with even wider eyes, which then leads to everyone in the surrounding gates to look as well.

With a shrug, she sets her stuff carefully back into her carry-on and then makes her way over to a speaker desk thingy. The people who work at the desk thing quickly hook her up to the airport-wide speaker system.

"Hey, babe, what's up?" she asks with a casual tone, ignoring everyone's eyes and the phones now videoing everything. Her voice echoes on the speakers throughout the entire airport.

"What's up? Oh, sweetest, you know what's _up_ ," he snarks. While it could be taken as an innuendo, his next words contradict that line of thought. "Remember how you told me you'd be going home tomorrow?"

"Yep! That doesn't really explain the grand gesture of this conversation being broadcasted over the whole place on the speakers. You totally could've just called me or Tony Stark'd your way past security to find my gate."

"First of all, sparky, I don't know your gate-"

"Friday knew. She printed out my boarding pass, being the fantastic A.I. she is. Or you could have asked Happy, who drove me here. By the way, thank you so much, Happy dear."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Lewis," comes Happy's reply quickly.

"Happy, really? Friday, you knew too?" Tony squawks.

"Yes, boss-man." Friday's voice also comes through the speaker, leading Darcy to guess that the A.I. had been connected to the airport system.

"Shame on you two, keeping secrets from your creator and boss," Tony mutters.

"Not trying to keep a secret. We just thought you knew," Happy says.

"Well, I didn't." Darcy snorts as she imagines the pout that the almighty, Invincible Iron Man is directing at his friend. " _Anyway,_ guess what I found when I woke up in our fabulously expensive and comfy oversized bed this morning?"

"What?" She gasps excitedly. "Did you find that earring-back I lost last week?"

"What? No. Sweetheart, we found that a couple nights ago. Anyway…nothing! I found nothing! I found an empty bed, that's what!"

"Yes, and, pain in my side?"

"Why weren't you there? You said your flight is at noon, oh light of my life."

"Look, Mr. Billionaire, I know you've probably never in your entire life flown in something as ordinary as a commercial airplane like the rest of us common, non-filthy rich folk, but _even you_ should know that it's pretty much a given that you're supposed to show up at least an hour before your flight time. Everyone knows that. I personally just tend to make sure I'm there two hours earlier in case TSA sucks so I'll still have time to buy snacks." Around her, she can see others nodding in bewildered agreement.

"I thought you were using the jet, and that's only a twenty-minute drive to the strip! I even set an alarm so that we'd be awake by eleven!"

A small smile finds its way to her face at hearing this, and she lets the fight drain out of her. "That's actually very sweet. No, I'm taking a commercial. I honestly thought you knew. I even checked up on you right before I left. Besides, I didn't know you wanted to see me off."

"And I thought that was part of my dream. Well, _now_ , I know! Love, I'm not seeing you off, I'm coming with you!" There's a sigh that crackles through the speaker. "Why are you even taking commercial in the first place, song of my heart?"

"You know I can't sing to save a damn, Calcifer of my castle. I forgot. I've never used it before, so I forgot it was even an option. I used your card to pay for my ticket and snacks though! Wait, you're coming with?"

"Of course, you did, my Mononoke, and of course, I'm coming with you." Knowing he's most likely watching the security camera, she sends a saucy wink its direction. "Which gate? I'll come over."

"No breaking any windows, Haku! Gate C 30. Wait, I thought you were busy!"

"See you in a moment, lady love of mine."

"Wait, royal rake-" Then the speakers crackle and turn off.

She turns to face the population of bystanders watching her and smiles. "Sorry for the interruptions, everyone! Have a good rest of your day!" She even adds a little wave at the end.

Only a few moments later, a little kid runs over to the windows excitedly. "Mommy, look! It's Iron Man!" the child squeals. Darcy looks and sees the young human is right. Encased in the newest model of his suit is her Avenger, landing right next to the staircase that leads up to the thingy that leads into the plane, which is apparently called a jetway but Darcy likes her name for it better. Then he lands, walks out of the suit, and climbs the stairs. He disappears into the tunnel thingy (which was apparently not locked) for a few seconds before appearing in the entrance way. She goes over to him with a grin.

"Hey, you," she says.

"Hey, _you_ ," he says right back.

She takes a good look at him and ends up frowning, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "You look terrible," slips out of her mouth before she can think better than to say it.

He gasps fabrications dramatically and grips his chest. "I'll have you know that I always roll out of bed looking 1000% perfectly sexy!" He shrugs charismatically. "What can you do? I'm just that fabulous."

"Tony, you don't have to come with me. I know it's so short notice, and you're probably busy. It's okay. I'll just be visiting my family."

"I'm Tony Stark, of course, I'm not too busy for you."

"Are you sure?" She searches his eyes sincerely. They never flaunt their relationship in the media, and neither of them has the greatest track record with relationships, or even good ones really. Him coming home with her would be a huge step in their relationship, and she doesn't want them to take it without being ready. She loves what they have, and she doesn't want to ruin it by rushing into things far too soon.

"I'm sure, Darcy," he whispers with a seriousness he rarely shows, and she knows he's not joking or taking this lightly.

"Okay," she says softly.

"Okay," he parrots with a smirk.

"We can do this." She's not sure whether she's saying it more for his benefit or hers.

"Yes, we can, so let's go," he confirms with a kiss on her forehead.

Then they're linking fingers, and he's gently leading her outside the airport to where his suit waits. He quickly suits up before holding her in his arms, her carry-on smooshed safely between them.

"Ready?" he asks, his voice slightly muffled through the faceplate.

"Yes," she breathes out with a smile.

Then, like a cheesier than cheese romantic movie, they're lifting off into the sky with her tucked tightly in his grip and most likely everyone who can see them watching the scene with their phones out, filming the whole thing. As they fly to the jet, she can already see tomorrow's headline.

 _Can Your Man Stop an Airport? The Iron Maiden and her Iron Man Meet the Fam._

Later, when the two of them are relaxing on his private jet as they soar towards her hometown, she looks up from StarkPad to stare at him. He notices her gaze after a few moments and raises an eyebrow.

"Hey," he starts.

"Hey," she repeats.

"Are you okay?"

She nods. "Are _you_ okay? You still don't have to do this."

He puts his own StarkPad down and turns to fully face her. "Darcy, I'm starting to think you don't want me to come."

"No! That's not what I want. I just, well, I knew you were busy and didn't expect you to just stop everything so you could come." _We've also never really take such a huge step in our relationship_ , Darcy adds in her head. "I don't want you to come because you think you have to."

"I want to. Darcy, babe, as much as I don't think it will be the best visit ever, I mean I am a few years older than you-"

"I know!" She winks at him. "I'm just waiting for you to write me into your will and then kick the bucket so I can reap all the benefits!"

He chuckles but continues. "-and I've also not had the greatest media record when it comes to relationships, I admit, but I _want_ to meet your family. They're a part of who you are."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"Let's do this shit!"


End file.
